Monday, August 25, 2014

In November, I will be volunteering at the New York City
Marathon, handing out water to runners at the Mile 22 station. I can’t wait! I
thought I would get some practice handing out water to people running past me at
exceptionally fast speeds, while testing out my cheering skills.

That, and JackRabbit was offering $10 in store credit for every hour of
volunteering at last Sunday’s Battle of Brooklyn in Prospect Park. Running ain’t
cheap, and I’ve had my eye on a pair of compression sleeves for quite some
time. And should probably get a fresh pair of kicks before my marathon. And I
want a Sparkly Soul headband. And water bottles. And maybe just oneee more pair
of spandex, with a butt pocket? Yeah. Needless to say, that store credit was
mighttttty tempting. But in all honestly, I was also just excited to spend time
at a race, around runners, and JackRabbit peeps who are an overall great group!

So that’s why I woke up super early on Sunday morning to
sit on the 4 train for an eternity with David to get to Prospect Park by 7:15
a.m.

(I may have been tired, but I think this guys morning was a little rougher...)

I got my volunteer shirt (Ok, the free shirt was ALSO an incentive!) and
met up with my friend Nick before being sent over to water station numero dos
(the best hydration station of the day, obviously).

There were 6 of us there during the race and
we got to wear awesome hats.

Some runners are really good at grabbing water on the
fly. Others, not so much.

It was so fun though! Lots of people thanked us for being
there, or had a funny little one-liner for us as the ran by. It was also great
because the Battle of Brooklyn is a 10-mile race or relay, taking racers for 3
loops around Prospect Park, so we got to see faces over and over again. By the
end of the 10 miles, we were like best friends.

I also got to see some November Project and JackRabbit
friends run by, which was nice!

The weather was meh most of the morning, cold and rainy
but then the sun came out and warmed us as we tried our best to get rid of the
water to random runners out in the park. It was hysterical how excited some of
them got that they were being offered water.

(Cloudy, yet sunny? You're pretty, Prospect Park)

I am a fan of volunteering at races, and can’t wait for
the marathon!

Afterwards, we headed back to registration to sign out
and I left with some awesome JackRabbit Battle of Brooklyn pint glasses and a
whole buncha bananas. Then it was time to head home for a quick nap before #BetterThanBedtime
with November Project. Tina, Jackie and I had decided to go as donuts because,
why not?

(Will run for donuts!)

The theme was Noah’s Ark and everyone’s costumes were
supah cute- but especially the tigers and composition notebooks. I looked a
fool in my donut crop top and crazy socks, but what else is new?

(Lookin' gooood)

We ran 4 miles to get to the secret location. Along the way, we ran through
Central Park and a street fair where one stall offered us free hot dogs! Seriously regret not taking them up on that offer. I was so proud of my
friend Tina who ran her furthest distance ever that night! :) Sweaty hugs were
in order.

(YOU DID IT TINA!)

The run ended at Park Avenue Tavern where the good times
rolled. Everyone I have had the pleasure of meeting through this group makes me
smile- they are fun, enthusiastic, kind, badass, hysterical and inspiring. We’re
a pretty good looking bunch too…

(Tribe leaders and a donut pyramid)

For some reason, at 10:30 p.m. I decided I didn’t feel like being
sweaty on an air conditioned subway train so I just ran home instead. Ended up
getting in my 6 miles for the day, after all! Hoorah!

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Runspiration

Who of us hasn't considered how our peers will react to our performance in a given race, whether good or bad? And in those moments, whom are we ultimately running for? The sport is difficult enough as it is; doing it for anyone but ourselves makes it unsustainable.